Two States in One Nation
by Velgamidragon
Summary: Twoshot. After his dissolution, Prussia declared himself as the GDR to save himself from death and he stubbornly-maintains separate sovereignty from West to live. And the reason why starts as far back as Germania's disappearance, but lonliness has a way of making people do desperate things.
1. Separation

Two States in One Nation

**Author's Note: This is what happens when I read history. Lol, for once, I'm writing about contemporary history (kinda weird though, I feel awkward). :P The second chapter is already written and will be up later tonight after I get off work. I DID AS MUCH RESEARCH AS I COULD! But there's just sooo much and so many factors and viewpoints that came into play, that I probably missed a lot, so forgive me for being an amateur and if I missed something or got something not quite correct, I deeply apologize and I will fix it if possible, but some of it, I can't because then it would interfere too much with the base of the story (hopefully it's not too wrong though... o.o)**

**Warning: Only that this fic features some of my headcanon, that's all; mostly regarding Prussia's and Holy Rome's family history and Liechtenstein's (and Kugelmugel's in the next chapter) parentage.**

**Disclaimer: This is based upon contemporary history, but with a Hetalia twist of course and with my own headcanons, so the ideas are mine, but not the rest of it.**

* * *

**Separation**

Prussia had seen a great deal of history in his very long lifetime and he had survived a lot. To say that a nation would _need_ to survive almost sounded ridiculous, but he, like most of the European countries, was old enough to know that nations could die. And they did. None of their parents or grandparents or whatever were still around. His own father, Germania, had disappeared soon after Holy Roman Empire was born and he'd never been successful in finding him. So countries did die and he'd had his own close brushes with death even as early on as the sixteenth century. The Protestant Reformation had really torn him up back then and only the Grand Master Albert had been able to save him by converting to Protestant and transforming him into the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 even if it had meant being nothing, but a Polish fief for a little while. Whether he would have died then or not, he didn't know, but he had still escaped it and recovered. Now Prussia once again found himself in the void of uncertainty between life and death.

They wanted him dead. All of them. America, Britain, France, and Russia (well, not so much Russia, but he certainly wasn't trying to stop the others). They all wanted him dead. They blamed him, his culture, and his military history for the rise of the Nazis that had become West's bosses. An eye for an eye: kill the one that was the source that brought upon this horrific genocide. Britain and his previous boss, Winston Churchill, had believed this since at least September of 1943:

"_The core of Germany is Prussia. There is the source of the recurring pestilence."_

Those were that man's words and they all agreed. That was why they were calling for his dissolution. It was a deathblow for a nation. And it was done. February 25, 1947. The state of Prussia officially ceased to exist and indeed, he'd had no real government after 1932, but he wasn't dead yet! He was Awesome Prussia! He wouldn't go down without a fight! What was left of West that hadn't been partitioned had been divided into four zones of occupation by the Allied countries and some of that land was _his_! They were not getting rid of him that easily! !

"I'm East!"

He wasn't stupid, especially when it came to his survival. They were called the Allied Control Council, but France, Britain, and America would never let Russia get any closer than that, not with his current government. There was already a great deal of tension between him and the others and if things worked in the direction they seemed to be heading. West was improving and recovering tremendously under the occupation (with exception to Russia's zone in the east), but Russia would never let his piece of him go. As much as he... _relished_ the thought of staying with that giant, he knew that the other three countries would all allow West to become his own man again (since they'd already dealt with the supposed source of Nazism) to unite against Russia and his communism, but if Russia didn't allow the eastern sector to be united, then it would incidentally turn Germany into _West _Germany (ironic how he'd been calling him that all this time). West would be safer with them, the other Allies, than_ he _would anyway since Russia was the only one who hadn't minded either way if he continued to exist or not. _West_ wasn't dissolved, _he_ was. At least there were some people in the eastern sect that still called themselves Prussians.

"Great! So you'll be coming over to live in my house, da?"

It wasn't like he had a choice.

1949 came and the separation was official. After America, Britain, and France had determined that West had fully-recuperated and no longer needed supervision to keep on the right path, they all left his house. But as Prussia had predicted, Russia wasn't keen on relinquishing the eastern part of West and that was when Prussia took it upon himself to officially declare himself to be the German Democratic Republic. He'd been planning it since his dissolution, but he hadn't told West. He'd relied on the people who still called themselves Prussians to squeak through the past two years until he could grab a new name for himself and once again be safe in the immortality of nationhood. West had been both frantic and furious with him.

"_You_ don't do big stuff like this on a whim! You were planning to secede all this time, weren't you? ! Why didn't you tell me, brother, _why_? ? ?"

West was young. So young, in fact, that he had never seen a country die. Even his niece, Liechtenstein, who was only born in the early eighteenth century, had seen the dissolution of her uncle, the Holy Roman Empire. Despite the physical similarities between him and West, he had never been able to prove whether or not the two were one-and-the-same, but that was the past and irrelevant at that. Even if West _was_ Holy Rome, he remembered nothing of his life then, so he had still never seen another country die or disappear. He didn't understand the fearful limbo of being alive yet teetering on the brink of non-existence. It wasn't something that he would be able to explain to West and have be understood. One had to experience it for themselves. Loathe as he was to admit it, his loser younger brother Austria understood all too well. Everyone, even him, had thought he was going to die at the end of the first Great War. There were few things worse in this world for a country than dying and knowing that all your greatest struggles and triumphs had all been for nothing. So he left West without explaining, because he couldn't, and tried to settle himself as best he could into this Soviet-run life he had chosen while protecting his peoples' German culture and heritage.

It was hell. Since declaring himself as East Germany, Russia seemed determined to crush the German within him. His Soviet-sympathizing bosses had told him he was a socialist nation-state of workers and peasants. Being German wasn't necessary in obtaining that. In fact, it was harmful because then foolish nationalistic pride got in the way. They were all one. They were all comrades. Nothing would hold one man or woman over the other. He'd heard the spiels enough times to be able to recite them by heart, but _oh_ how it burned! He had seethed as he'd been forced to stand by and watch the Allies _support_ Russia's annexation of East Prussia. 'East Prussia', _hell _no! That was his ancestral birth place, his _mother's_ land! And his own Fritz had fought to retrieve it and become the first true King _of_ Prussia in 1772! Russia had _no_ right to it and yet, he could do _nothing_ to stop _his_ motherland from being taken by Russia.

As if that wasn't enough. The _oh so great _founder of communism, Karl Marx (he remembered the name enough to know that a newspaper or two had been officially shut down by the government for it's criticisms of capitalism, the government, and Russia's government too. More irony) had absolutely despised him, so of course, they hated him too. Not only was Russia trying to crush his German spirit, but eliminate his Prussian self – his very identity. The SED, his _Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands_ (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), was trying to destroy all continuity between him, Prussia, and East Germany. And he had been an inferno of inconsolable rage when they had started destroying all the monuments to his dear Old Fritz that they could find. He had long ago secreted away his past mementos of Fritz; they would _not_ have his precious treasures of the man who had made him a formidable European power! ! !

"It's good to see that you're getting along so well in my house, _Deutsche Demokratische Republik _(1). If you weren't, it would be so easy to dissolve this temporary existence you made for yourself and put you right back in that horrific limbo again, da?"

1952 proved just _how_ easy it would be. Russia's boss, Stalin, had proposed the reunification of West with himself, East Germany, along with their neutralization. It was suspiciously clean. There were no conditions on economy or politics and all the basic human rights were guaranteed. Probably the only reason why they hadn't been reunified then was because Britain (who had Churchill as his Prime Minister again), France, and America were so distrustful of Russia. They certainly would never have stated a rearmed West (with freedom to join their stupid European Defense Community) as one of their conditions to allow such reunification under _ordinary_ postwar circumstances. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had always known that his identity as East Germany was only temporary and the Stalin Note had driven that truth straight into his head. As a result, he was more determined than ever to keep his identity as East Germany.

_The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany_

But that didn't mean that he had to like the way his territory was being governed! His people were going hungry because of all the militarisation and heavy industry! Of all the things that could have started the uprising, it was only a simple worker's strike – that he had encouraged – to protest the raised quota of work for the same amount of pay with a penalty of salary reduction if they failed to meet the quota. It certainly wasn't _his _fault that West's radio stations in West Berlin were broadcasting all over and that his entire country was uprising with his East Berlin as a result. It had gone from a worker's strike to a political one and even though the uprising was suppressed by the Soviets, Prussia was still proud of his people's quick and unified response. They were German through and through.

Regardless of his initial optimism, his centuries-worth of experience, and of course, his awesomeness, Prussia's people still suffered for several years and he knew it was because of the Soviet occupation. Instead of focusing on the agriculture that would ensure they had _food_, Russia's bosses were intensely interested in keeping high war-like levels of industry-production. His people were lacking in _basic_, everyday needs and not only was he getting poorer by the year, but he was feeling sick too. He could not honestly blame any of the East Germans who left him for West's home. Not even the Berlin Wall that was put up in 1961 and isolated West's heart in a communist-run land could stop them. Prussia couldn't support them here, they'd be better off with West even if the mass migration did weaken him. But his economical situtation wasn't the only problem he was facing.

"_You __**dummkopf **__(2)__! Why are you so stubbornly clinging to this restrictive government? ! Not only is it killing you, but it's killing your people! I see it every time more of them cross the border into my home! Rebel against Russia and reunite with me! Brother, you're not even trying! You have the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg (3) on your side! I know you can accomplish it if you just put your mind to it! You're awesome!"_

Yes, he was awesome, but not even that would save him from the inevitable death that would follow if he reunited with his younger brother and West didn't seem to realize that. He missed West, he really did and it'd be nice to reunite with him apart from the occasionally-allowed telephone call, but he'd be damned if he was going to stop being the GDR! He had no other name to fall back on and reunification would kill him. Oh, he wouldn't disappear immediately. There was still a small number that thought of themselves as Prussian and even some who were loyal to the 'soveregin' (how could anyone be completely soveregin in a Stalin-influenced communist regime?) state of the GDR, but if he reunified with Germany, in time, those people would die out and their descendents would only call themselves German. Their consciousness, their lives would belong in West's hands and there would be nothing left for him.

Prussia felt terribly sick and congested the longer he remained as East Germany. He fought against Russia's communism every which way while still trying to maintain his independency of West. Communism seemed to seep in like coal dust into his lungs and there were many times when he felt he couldn't breathe for its suffocating nature. His culture, his history was being strangled by this sickening atmosphere that had nothing to do with the sky and the clouds above. Half of him wanted it to end, to give up being East Germany and reunite with West. To tease him and worry over him like he used to and even pick on his loser brother Austria or get hit in the head by Hungary's frying pan again before he finally faded away into non-existence. Reuninting would be better for his people too. Germany could take care of them. He was strong, he'd made him so. But the other half of him wanted to keep on going, to keep on living. Any kind of life was better than death and giving up was the worst possible failure in Father Germania's eyes.

He had to keep on. He had to make this better. He was not going to die. There had to be a way! Death and death couldn't be his only options! ! There had to be something else! Some way to stay alive! But Prussia couldn't see one. All roads looked to be dead ends. He was immortal. Death should not be his enemy. He had seen it time after time to young and old alike. It was a blessing to the elderly humans – even though it hurt horribly when Old Fritz had left him behind – but it couldn't be for him. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to disappear like _Vati_ (4) had when he was a child. Suddenly. Without warning. He was just gone and he knew he'd never see him again. He didn't want to die! He didn't want to disappear! He wasn't living for his people anymore – he already _knew_ they'd be better off with Germany – he was living for his own selfish reasons because he- !

He was _afraid_ to die.

Alone in his room with all his treasured possessions and momentos from history, Prussia cried for the first time in over one hundred and fifty years since Holy Rome's dissolution in 1806. Ashamed of his selfishness. Ashamed of his fear. Ashamed of himself. But he was just so terribly afraid.

()()()()()()()

Once again, it seemed that Germany had taken it upon himself to visit his home to agonize over his separation from his brother. It had been particularly bad before Willy Brandt became Germany's Foreign Minister in 1966 and developped the Ostpolitik to reconcile the two Beilschmidts, but Germany still had his moments.

"I don't understand Austria! I just don't!" Germany repeated and took another swig of beer, "I don't get why he remains insistent on us remaining as two separate nations."

"Germany..."

Germany continued on his rant, completely ignoring Austria, "I can _see_ what he's going through right across my 'border' and the state of his people who _do_ successfully make it over to my house... and those who don't."

"Germany."

"I have the resources and the stability and the _willingness_ of my people to be able to support him both financially and politically if he would just put his foot down with his boss, declare himself 'too awesome for this communist shit', and reunite with me."

"Well, Prussia does have the strongest stubborn streak in the family," Austria pointed out calmly once Germany had paused momentarily.

"Don't I know it?" Germany agreed with dry humor and then his concerned frown returned, "But I know he wants unification too. Or at least some part of him does. I sometimes catch him with a wistful expression on his face when he looks toward my land and doesn't realize I'm watching. I truly believe he misses us."

It took all of Austria's willpower not to snort in disbelief at the very notion that their older brother would miss _him_, 'Loser Austria'. Well, no, Prussia might miss taunting him. _That_ would be perfectly believable.

"But stubborness aside, why, Austria?" Germany asked and Austria looked over at him. His tone was no longer loud and annoyed, but quiet and plaintive. His light blue eyes, so much like Father Germania's, were wide and desperate with worry. He wanted answers that Austria didn't think he had. "Why _won't_ he unify with me? _Why_ does he still maintain separate sovereignty when it's so obviously hurting him?"

He had an _idea_ why, but he could hardly be sure of it's authenticity and it's not like Prussia would ever confirm it in a million years. Austria had been in a similar state, but reversed, when World War I ended. Death would be a very likely result of such a reunion for Prussia.

"I don't know, Germany."

After the first war, he had become land that was never a proper country to begin with. On the other hand, Prussia had become land that had ceased to be a country. _His_ land could have either dissolved into the territories of other countries or succeeded in transforming him into his own _true_ country. Prussia didn't have that liberty.

"How can I know what goes through the mind of a man like him?"

Death for a nation was a truly frightful thing on par with revolutions and civil wars. Regular tribal wars used to be frequent and so were the deaths of nations-that-might-have-been. It was truly a toss-up back in those days who would survive, but it wasn't _nearly_ so common anymore. However, the disappearance of their strong, invincible father had deeply shaken them all, but secretly, he felt that Prussia had been affected the worst. He'd completely ignored Holy Rome, who was still _really_ young then, at all costs as if their youngest brother was somehow responsible for their father's disappearance and wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn't say whether Germania's disappearance was part of why Prussia had so stubbornly maintained separate sovereignty from Germany (even with the ridiculous new name 'East'), but it would not surprise him much if it did.

"Just don't give up on him, Germany. He doesn't want to be forgotten."

Remembering him was the key to keeping him alive. Unfortunately, history was long while human lives were short and it was up to _them_ whether a country lived or died.

"In the meantime if he _is_ shifting between one desire or the other, you will simply have to go with the flow and recognize his soverenigty until he gets his act together and makes his final political decision on the matter, for better or worse."

Germany dropped his gaze to the table before him and let a dry laugh escape him. "I see. So I'll have to play by brother's rules. Two German states in one German nation (5). I suppose I'll go along with it for now. Not like I can do much anyway. Thank you for seeing me. I apologize for taking up your time like this," he said politely to his second-oldest brother and departed swiftly from the Austrian premises.

* * *

_Translation tiiiiiime! And some other short notes too._

_(1) Deutsche Demokratische Republik – (German) German Democratic Republic (I had Russia say it in German partially so that it would still be somewhat recognizeable what he was saying because I wanted to emphasize the blow to Prussia's pride that he's **no longer Prussia**, and if it was written in Russian, nobody would be able to even guess what Russia said – unless you read Russian that is)._

_(2) dummkopf – I think... this literally translates to 'stupid head'. In other words... FOOL! (props to you if you've watched Soul Eater)_

_(3) Miracle of the House of Brandenburg – The very first time this happened is when the Russians and the Austrians failed to follow up their victory over Frederick the Great at the Battle of Kunersdorf (lol, I like that word) in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. The second time it happened was in 1762, **still** during the Seven Years' War, when Frederick the Great recieved word that Czarina Elisabeth of Russia was dead and her nephew, Peter, admired Frederick thus changing Russia's alliance in the war. So ultimately, 'Miracle of the House of Brandenburg' always refers back to Frederick the Great._

_(4) Vati – Dad (informal form)_

_(5) "Two German States in One German Nation" – Technically, West Germany did not adopt this line until the early '80s, but since I was purposefully vague about **when** Germany had gone over to Austria's place to talk, I figured it would be okay. :)_

_I apologize effusively if I've totally screwed Prussia over in writing him! I'm not good with arrogant characters and this is my first time **really** writing him, but I didn't think that Prussia would act completely (if at all) like his normal self during this time period. I was reading up on East Germany at one point a couple weeks back (don't remember why), and I was reading that East Germany held itself away from West Germany as a separate German state whereas West Germany was calling for unification and maintained that East Germany was an illegally-constituted state and Soviet puppet._

_Reading that, it didn't take me much to come up with a headcanon for why Prussia would do something like that, when he so clearly adores his little brother (partially because I'd already spent some time thinking about the subject before I read it). I've maintained the belief that Germania disappeared (faded away into a different plane of existence is what I figure) soon after Holy Roman Empire was born because all the lands and people that he used to represent were becoming too diversified and were now starting to be represented by all of his sons (Holy Rome took care of the rest of the territory). Holy Rome was also his parting gift to his friendship with Ancient Rome, who he'd killed in the late fourth century (but because he was so important to Western and Southern European culture and history, Rome had instead faded away)._

_Upon Germania's disappearance soon after Holy Rome's birth, I think it's quite reasonable for Prussia, still just a child at the time, to believe that it was Holy Rome's fault that Germania disappeared and want nothing to do with him. This would start Prussia's fear of death and disappearing, but it wouldn't cement it just yet. That started coming about when Holy Rome disappeared (Thirty Years' War) and became a finite part of his psychology when Holy Rome was later dissolved (Napoleonic Wars). I think he would also feel extremely guilty about the way he'd treated his youngest brother and completely ignored him which is why he's so close to Germany and is so meticulous of his care and protection of him. He doesn't want to repeat the same mistakes that he made towards Holy Rome._

_Ah, and the bit about Prussia's motherland, that's mostly referring to the southern part of the Baltic area in what is currently Poland (with that little bit of Russian territory). That's where Old Prussia was located before the Teutonic Knights showed up, but the people who lived in the region weren't called by one name because they didn't have any form of unity, so they called themselves by whatever geographic features were around them (such as the Sambians who lived on the Sambian Peninsula)._

_You know, it's weird. This is all history for me, but this stuff was happening during my great-grandparents', my grandparents', and even later, my **parents'** (they were born in the late '60s) lifetimes! It's actually kinda scary..._


	2. Reunion

**Reunion**

_1989_

It wasn't worth it anymore. He'd known that it was a fruitless course to persue from the beginning, but he'd stubbornly told himself that he could get around it and fix it himself, but Russia and his assosciates had kept on and constantly interferred with the workings of his governement. Now he'd made up his mind, even if it was suicide he chose. If he was going to die, then he was going to die happy, damn it! And if he was going to do it, it was going to be now while Russia still had Gorbachev as his boss. He was unlike any previous Soviet leader and Prussia was going to take his chance now while he could get away with it without worrying about interference since the stupid Brezhnev Doctrine was abandoned. He wasn't the only one either. All the other countries in Eastern Europe were already beginning to take advantage of this new freedom.

Poland, cross-dressing and often-ridiculous Poland, had started his demonstrations and strikes as far back as April of the previous year and had already successfully-overthrown his communist government by June in his elections. May 2nd, had seen Austria's and Hungary's personal _official _reunion when they started taking down the Iron Curtain and it was also Austria's introduction (he was _almost_ sure it was an introduction, not a reunion, he didn't get to see Hungary all that much to know otherwise even living on the same side of the continent) to his little eccentric artist son of seven years. Had no idea what his nephew's true _nation_ name was, but he still would have paid _big _marks to have been there and witness that moment (if he had known that it was going to happen _then_)! The fence was already mostly-dissolved by the end of the month when their foreign ministers cut through the wire for international photographers to symbolize the destruction of the Iron Curtain and freer relations and it had resulted in over 600 of his people heading for Hungary's house to go through Austria's to get to West's.

More increasingly-obvious signs of the winds of change were in early July, before the entire Council of Europe – which consisted of Britain, representing the United Kingdom with his older brothers, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, Netherlands with his sister, Belgium, and brother, Luxembourg, France, Italy (both of them), Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – Gorbachev formally-announced his policy of non-intervention in the form of the Sinatra Doctrine (as if it hadn't been obvious enough with his lack of interevention with Poland and Hungary!). The countries weren't the only ones heartened and revved up by the news; their people were too! For the first time in decades, the people that they represented would finally be able to show their true colors and create the government that _they_ wanted and without _any _fear of Soviet intervention! Even Prussia was caught up in the revolutionary atmosphere, but he wanted his timing to be right. Something fitting for the Great Prussia.

It didn't take him long to find it. Austria and Hungary were hosting a Pan-European picnic on their border on August 19th to desmonstrate the ridiculousness of such borders. Flyers were even being given out! It was perfect! They couldn't have an awesome picnic without the Awesome Prussia! He'd just go on and invite himself over! Prussia was not the only one to have the bright idea of attending this Pan-European picnic; several thousands of East Germans traveled with him and _naturally_, the first thing he did upon arrival was announce his supreme awesomeness to the gather at large. Then he immediately glided over to his favorite (both physical and verbal) punching bag!

"Hey, Loser Austriaaaaaaa! ! !" Prussia said loudly as he barreled his way through the crowd and swung his arm around his younger brother's neck, pulling him into a headlock, "The Awesome Me is here, so your picnic-party thing is salvaged because you seriously suck at this! There's not _nearly_ enough beer! How can you have a good party without copious amounts of beer? ? And you claim to be German! Those loser Habsburg bosses of yours seriously messed you up. Well, not a total loss; my awesomeness shall easily overcompensate for your loserness-!"

He probably would have gone on except that Hungary had taken a frying pan to his head and left a throbbing egg-sized bump where it hit. He was only out cold for five minutes (how? Because he's awesome!) before he came to, full of obnoxious laughter and clearly in good spirits. He'd honestly forgotten what skillet-to-head had felt like and it felt good to have something so trivial (the bump was hardly trivial!) happen to him.

"Still as deadly as ever!" Prussia laughed loudly, "Good thing birthing a second kid hasn't softened you up! Speaking of which, what's shy-and-quiet's name over there?" his voice dropped back down to a serious curiosity as he vaguely gestured at the white-haired, violet-eyed boy peering at him from behind his mother's skirts.

It was his father who answered, "Kugelmugel."

Prussia gave Austria an expression of mocking disbelief. "Really? '_kugel_'? 'Sphere'? _That's_ the first part of your son's name? And what the hell is a 'mugel'? That's not normal German. Are you screwing up my language again? !"

"It's Austrian German..."

"Aha! So you _are_ screwing up my language! !" Prussia declared, unrepentant.

"Hardly yours since you threw Old Prussian words into your dialect _and _you're unoriginal since your current name starts with 'East' (1) too," Austria retorted.

"PRUSSIAAAAA! ! ! ! !" a loud voice suddenly bellowed, just before Prussia could say something rude back to Austria, from the northern end of the field. Prussia was instantly excited and anxious. There was only one person he knew that could shout that loud in such a deep voice, but West had never called him by his name before, at least in _that_ tone.

As soon as he saw his tall, youngest brother, despite his slight anxiety, he immediately ditched those losers and ran over to West, not caring for once (shock!) that his beer was spilling everywhere because of his wild actions, "WEEEEEEST! You're here! Good! I hope you brought more beer with you because stupid Austria didn't bring enough as usu- al..."

West had just sucker-punched him in the gut and caught him totally off-guard which was a very rare moment to witness, much less take advantage of.

"_Sie ... sind die schlimmsten stolz, rücksichtslos, dumm, starrsinnig älterer Bruder aller Zeiten! (2)_" West yelled at him in angry German (and because it's German, it automatically sounds a hundred times angrier when it's actually being yelled), but when he was done with the verbal beatdown, he looked about ready to cry.

"Aw, it's okay, West. I know you love me 'cause I'm awesome," Prussia said with a carefree shoulder squeeze to the taller German country, but he was as happy to see West as West was to see him (even if his baby brother _did_ punch him in the gut first).

So after West had finally pulled himself together and met his nephew, whom he greeted awkwardly since he had always been the youngest in the family until now, he gazed across the border, or lack thereof with a calculating look. "So after this picnic thing, all the East Germans currently in Hungary at the moment are going to escape through Austria's land to get to mine?"

"Nope!" Prussia said proudly.

"'NO'? ! ? !" Germany repeated, horror-struck, "Certainly they're not going to _stay_ in Hungary's house!"

"Not that either!" Hungary said in a chipper tone, "My border guards have been telling the East Germans that they can get West German passports from your West German diplomats here in my home, Germany. Some of them will undoubtedly leave, but many of them want that passport, so they're staying on a little longer."

"Ah, so it's... not going to be an immediate mass migration," Germany concluded, looking a little relieved and then turned concerned eyes onto his oldest brother, "So I won't get to see you for long this time around."

"Nope!" Prussia said with a vigorous shake of his head, "But it's hardly the last you'll hear from me. My East Germans are gonna be shaking things up real soon! You heard Gorbachev as well as I did West. Sinatra Doctrine! You've seen what Poland and Hungary have already done and without a peep from Russia! The entire Eastern bloc is on fire West, and it's not gonna stop until it's run its course, destructive or peaceful!"

"Just... be careful Brother," Germany warned him to which Prussia snorted.

"'Careful'? Please! 'Careful' is showing throat and letting the Alpha wolf push you around. It's nerve, determination, and a whole lot of desperate to challenge and take down the biggest Alpha male."

()()()()()()()

Seeing West had been a great tonic for him and strengthened his resolve. It was about time he stopped running and got out of this year in a truly epic-awesome Prussian style! He was gonna make his contribution to this revolutionary year so grand and fantastic that nobody, not even the history books, would ever forget it! When Hungary completely opened up her borders September 11th, he encouraged as many of his people, who were willing and able, as possible to journey to her house and detour through Austria's to get to West (which ended up being several tens of thousands!). They were all going to get there sooner or later and realistically, he had no control over the when, but if he had _his_ way, he would bring all the Germans together in a month (maybe two)!

Hungary's border opening had actually helped stir his people into further dissent with the government; the atmosphere was practically boiling with it and he _thrived_ on it! His blood quickened every day with the increased tension, but not with the bloodlust of battle. Much as Prussia would have loved kicking the government's collective asses, that would not win him _this_ war! This type of war called for different battle tactics and he was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his goal. He quickly discovered the avenue to channel his strength and will in a rather large demonstration movement in Leipzig which had been created through a nearby Protestant Church and demonstrations were held every Monday after service. Prussia didn't hesitate a second in giving the movement his full support. Ironic that the religion that had nearly killed him the first time was now trying to (sorta) save him, but that hardly mattered now or a hundred years ago, so it was best to forget it.

He could feel the day drawing ever closer! Just a _month_ after Hungary's borders opened, the movement had a grand total of 320,000 non-violent demonstrators, the number increasing by the week, and 10,000 East Germans left by the day. As a result, his internal structure was a mess and he still felt somewhat sick, but he could put up with it in favor of the overthrow of the government to reunite with West and give his people a far better standard of living then they'd _ever _had under the separation!

The government was beginning to crumble!

One of his so-called bosses, Erich Honecker – the leader of the SED, resigned from his position on October 18th and it fed the demonstrations' impassioned spirits! Sure, it wasn't the prime minister, but it _was _a step! The government was still giving into the East German will! Prussia, himself, was in an ecstatic frenzy and it further excited his people to keep on pushing for their freedom of mobility, democracy, and free elections! Nearly another month of relentless demonstrations later on November 7th, his official boss, the Prime Minister Willi Stoph, and the entire government under him resigned! Personally, the guy hadn't been that bad. He'd at least had a meeting with West's boss in 1970, but he had to go, just like the rest of the government! Sparing one in a position of power would show a weakness that he could not, _would_ not, allow!

He couldn't wait any longer!

All who were going to resign under the current conditions had already done so! There was nothing that his people couldn't do when they were all unified together in purpose and mind! Honecker's long-ago attempt to disable the demonstrations with the addition of the Stasi in the crowds was proof of the government's powerlessness, and they had overcome it! They would do it again!

Victory!

November 9th, the government was allowing travel directly between himself and West and it was to take effect immediately (as if they had any other choice when the masses were screaming defiance in their ears). Screw the Politburo and their stupid checkpoints! He was too awesome for shit like this! Prussia promptly bowled over the guards (yes, they were his too, but they were being stupid weaklings – they should just join him in the awesomness of his nationalism!) that had the misfortune of being in his way and was followed by all the other East Germans as eager to get to the wall as he was. He barely skidded to a stop in front of the tall stone wall before him and he placed his hands upon it as he looked up at the top with such barely-contained excitement that he could hear the blood pounding in his ears with his rapidly-beating heart. He was here! He was _right_ here! And they weren't trying to stop him! (it'd be impossible to shoot him down, but it sure would be uncomfortable) Only stone separated his land from his little brother's now!

With his heart in his throat, Prussia stepped back slightly from the wall and cupped his hands around his mouth to better project his well-practiced bellow, "WEEEEEEEEST! ! ! !"

"BROTHER!" West's voice shouted back almost instantaneously and judging from the direction and intensity, West was a little further north than he was at the moment.

"Get over here! I'm about to do something _REALLY_ awesome!" Prussia shouted again as he grabbed at one of the slightly-jutting edges of the stony wall above his head, placing his foot upon the wall, and heaved himself up, then repeat.

It was a little slow, there were no _good_ hand- or foot-holds on the wall seeing as it was never designed to _be_ climbed and he scraped his knees and hands on the uneven surface, but nothing that wouldn't heal and _certainly_ nothing he couldn't live with! He could _hear_ the Germans! Both East and West populations amassing in huge, unprecedented numbers upon the wretched wall and even though he didn't need it, they encouraged him further!

"West, you over here yet! ?" Prussia shouted as his hands grasped the top of the wall. It wouldn't be as awesome if West wasn't directly on the opposite side of the wall from him.

"Right here, Brother!" West's voice came loud and clear and from the direction straight in front of him.

A wide smirk graced Prussia's lips, "Then prepare yourself to see this awesome face of mine..." he pulled himself up onto his elbows, dragged himself to the _opposite_ edge of the wall, and peered down with a triumphant grin upon his face upon seeing his youngest brother, "...West!"

"Brother!" West called back, his entire face expressing his overwhelming joy as he stretched out his right hand towards his oldest brother.

Grinning like a maniac and unable to stop himself, Prussia leaned downward and caught West's hand with his own in a tight, affectionate, and reassuring grip (3).

And when all the Germans of both countries on the wall and down below immediately burst into cheers and tumultuous applause, only then did Prussia begin to cry. It was okay though, because these were tears of joy and _those_ were awesome. He was allowed to cry awesome tears.

Struck with a sudden bout of dramatic awesome, Prussia tugged on West's arm, half-pulling him up, half-encouraging him up himself. "Come on, hurry up on this wall and join the awesome me! It'll be the first time that we've stood together in each others' hearts in nearly thirty years. – Oi! Germans, we need two pickaxes over here! – Up you get, there you go!" he exclaimed as he helped West settle himself on top of the wall and stood up, "Look alive, West! We're making history here! Now where- Ah! There they are!"

"Brother, what are we doing up here?" West asked as Prussia reached down and accepted the two pickaxes handed up to him, before finding one of them thrust into his arms.

"Follow my lead," Prussia murmured quickly under his breath and didn't give West time to ask for more details before he stood tall and stretched his arms wide out on either side of him to address those assembled.

"Since it's completion in 1961, this wall has physically separated West Germans from East Germans, but it has done more than that! It has isolated hearts and minds from each other and is a physical representation of the 'Iron Curtain', as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once described it, that has fallen across Europe!"

He could feel West's eyes on him, could practically _see_ the shock in his eyes. Yes, West had never heard him talk like this, never heard him speak with the force of the people he was a (temporary) country for. This was the East German will that he spoke with and only his strength and sympathetic eagerness kept them listening to him. Could West feel it from his own people? That driving frenzy throbbing at the back of his skull to enforce their will upon him? He'd be surprised if he couldn't.

"But the Curtain is tearing! You already know that Poland and Hungary have torn down their iron-clad drapes and now it's our turn! Never again will families be torn apart by this barrier! Never again will this wall thwart us! Never again will East Germany be separated from West!"

West had caught on and with an almighty swing, powered by the fervor of their people, both swung their pickaxes down onto their respective sides of the wall and stone debris flew out in all directions, but such was the strength of their blow that there were two rough holes, one big and one small on each side of the wall. Look through either and one could see the land on the other side.

"The Berlin Wall has fallen!" Prussia declared and thrust his arm, pickaxe and all, into the air in a gesture of triumph, "**Let Germany be reunited!**"

The explosion of noise upon this proclamation was cacophonous and near-deafening and what followed immediately after was pure chaos. People either climbed over the wall to reunite with long-separated family members or they started hacking away at the wall with whatever they could find or both! And through it all, Prussia never once let his deeply-rooted anxiousness surface farther than the very depths of his consciousness, barely allowing himself to feel it in the euphoria of one of his greatest triumphs in history. Despite what the reunification would mean, he could relax today. Deep in his subconscious, he knew he'd be alright for a little while longer. He'd bought himself more time. Momentous events such as this lasted longer in memory and retelling than their loyalty to a country's identity, particularly when it was created with an abhorred government that most of the citizens didn't want.

()()()()()()

It seemed he had more time than he had originally-anticipated. He had originally attempted to maintain sovereignty as a democratic state, but West was having none of it (at the suggestion, West had gone all 'I'm not letting you get away with that again, you _dummkopf_!' and that was the end of that discussion) and so he had reluctantly resigned to his fate. However, upon the day of the official German unification, Prussia could see, in detail, just _how_ different the East and West had become from each other in a short forty years. West had grown whereas he had stagnated (and it was partially his fault). West was already reassuring him that they would aide former East Germany in getting its economic situation and living conditions back up to par and help him recover from his illness. West's government was already backing up these claims, but it sucked that he would have to take medication until his territory got back its full strength and could properly support German citizens again. Once again, he no longer existed as a nation anymore, but rather than being dissolved, like he had been in 1947, his and West's situation was more like the Italy brothers: two parts of a country united into one. However, they were _unlike_ the Italy brothers in that there was no threat of one of those two disappearing into nothingness. Veneziano and Romano, and the land they represented, were such different people with vastly different histories as a result of _hundreds_ of years worth of separation. Neither of them could disappear as a result.

The same could not be said for him and West. They hadn't even been separated for _fifty _years much less one hundred. It took longer than that to alter a culture to the point of requiring a separate identity and a body, such as himself, to represent it. He had _brought_ West onto the world stage and West had inherited his own culture. West's people were essentially Prussians in that sense and even though the forty years of separation had made remarkable differences between the West and the East, it _would_ recover in time and become like the rest of the complete Germany with a continuous history from there on out (unless West ended up getting partitioned in the far future yet again). That would probably be the point when he would disappear, but reforms and recovery took time... a long time, he could feel those minds who did not care for the German unification or didn't want it at all. So he wouldn't be going anywhere for quite a while yet; that is, if the Fall of the Berlin Wall didn't keep him around even longer than the time it would take for him to get better. However, there was something else out there keeping him alive that Prussia had not counted on.

()()()()()()()

_1991_

Prussia now had an _insanely_ huge amount of free time now that he was not a true country once again. He still had a region of land that was his body and a collection of people that supported him, but all the government work that he would have shouldered were he still a country was now West's responsibility. He'd go in and rescue him from his bosses, but for some reason, West didn't like it when he came barging into meetings to drag him away and do more awesome things. So what was he doing to keep from being bored and staying out of West's hair? Traveling! He was slowly making his way through all the German states to familiarize himself with West's land and any changes that may have occurred during his forty year absence. He was making his way through Bremen in the northern part of Germany when he felt something. A sort of pressure on his heart, but not oppressing. It was more... supportive and his red eyes widened in realization. It had been so long, he had all but forgotten...! But now that he recognized it, he couldn't believe he had forgotten!

There were Hohenzollerns here!

Prussia quickly glanced about him and took off at a run, keeping his eyes open, but more following the increasing pressure on his heart. He didn't know what they looked like anyway. Who was alive now? Were any others born since he'd last seen the Crown Prince William and his son, Louis Ferdinand? What had happened to the family he had served since 1511? His beating heart urged him toward a house and he entered without any thoughts regarding trespassing. This wasn't trespassing. They were _his_! The first person he saw was an old man sitting in a chair in the parlor. He was a Hohenzollern, there was no doubt about it! Even more astounding, he was Hohenzollern that he recognized!

"Louis Ferdinand?"

The man looked up in surprise and a look of shock crossed his face. There was no doubt about it! It _was_ Louis Ferdinand, grandson of his last Emperor! But he was _old_! How was he still alive! He was born in November of 1907! That meant he was... eighty-three years old! He was so changed since he'd last seen him! When _had_ he last seen him! He couldn't remember...

"Prussia...? Prussia...!" Hearing his true name spoken again nearly made the albino want to cry as the aged man stood up and strode over to greet him, his expression wide and smiling, "Prussia, old friend, I had always known that dissolution would never knock you down."

"You know me too well, Louis Ferdinand," Prussia said with an engaging smirk, "I'm too awesome for something like that to take me out!"

They both gave a small laugh at the use of Prussia's favorite word, then Louis Ferdinand became all serious, but he was still smiling, "It really is good to see you, Prussia. Why, we looked of an age when I last saw you and now I look four times your elder. Funny stuff mortality."

"_Im_mortality is no piece of cake either, you know," Prussia said half-jokingly, "After my dissolution, I didn't really pay too much attention to the Hohenzollerns, but... I still feel this supportive pressure on my heart when I'm near you guys like I did for my previous bosses of your family. Why?"

"Oh, Grandfather, you have a visitor?"

Prussia looked past his Prince and saw a curly-haired young man of about fifteen standing in the entrance way to the room beyond, looking a little surprised and confused (probably because he was not expecting his grandfather to have such a young-looking guest over). Yes, he was a Hohenzollern too and... he felt that same pressure towards this boy that he did towards Louis Ferdinand...?

"Yes, a most important one, Georg Friedrich," Louis Ferdinand said with a delighted smile, "This man is the magnificent nation once known as the Kingdom of Prussia. Indeed, he is the very embodiment of that great nation. Don't be fooled by his apparent youthful age. He has served at our family's behest for centuries and worked alongside some of our history's greatest leaders."

Georg Friedrich's eyes suddenly widened and gazed at Prussia with significantly-increased respect for the albino human-like nation. "So you are my birthright, Lord Prussia."

Prussia laughed heartily, "Now that's a mighty fine title, kid, but totally unnecessary. For one, I was dissolved, so I'm technically not allowed any titles though those always went to my bosses anyway" he threw a wink in Louis Ferdinand's direction, "And for two, I was a kingdom back in the glory days; I'm way too awesome to be just a lord."

"Prussia," Louis Ferdinand started and his smile was both knowing and understanding as he returned to the previous subject, "You may have been dissolved, but we have not renounced our claim to your throne. To your heart, we are still your bosses for we recognize you as Prussia first and foremost, and not as the German Democratic Republic that you claimed for yourself in 1949 nor the eastern part of Germany that you will maintain as a result of the split. We are the sons of Prussia, your Princes, and we cannot be Princes to a nation that has disappeared. You, the very country we were born to, are one of the few birthrights left to a Prussian Prince. While the House of Hohenzollern lives on, so will you Herr Prussia, the last living memory and record of our glorious heritage."

Prussia was absolutely speechless. The House of Hohenzollern had survived! Better yet, they were _his_ bosses! Not West's nor the GDR's, but his own and they were keeping him alive! They wouldn't let him die! He was so overcome with emotion that he couldn't speak for several moments.

"D-Danke! Danke, my son! You are... SO awesome!"

Louis Ferdinand grinned, knowing that it was the absolute highest compliment that Prussia could ever give.

Once Prussia had gotten a grip on himself, he turned his gaze back to the youth and said, "So, you said I'm your birthright too. I'm guessing that means you're my heir presumptive, ja?"

"Ja, Herr Prussia," Georg Friedrich said with a respectful nod of his head.

Suddenly Prussia grinned maniacally. "Hey, come on over here Georg!" Prussia said with a jerk of his head as he strode purposefully over to the prince, "I've been wanting to mess with this curly head of yours since I laid eyes on it! It's just begging to be messed with!" he exclaimed as he caught Georg Friedrich in a headlock and ruffled his hair to unruly satisfaction.

Nothing was permanent.

The gap between West and eastern Germany might never be overcome or West might finally bring equality and unity to the two halves.

Momentous as the Fall of Berlin was, people will forget that in time too, perhaps when they themselves personally don't realize its importance or when the result of the Berlin Wall's presence stops affecting their lives.

The living members of the House of Hohenzollern would keep him alive, but there was no guarantee that the House wouldn't die out in time.

There was no more-certain guarantee to his continued lifespan than these three bits, weak in and of themselves, but strong when gathered towards a common purpose. Despite the Allies' attempt to kill him off, there always seemed to be just one more thing that prevented him from dying. That he was still alive through so many methods after forty-five years was a miracle worthy of the House of Brandenburg. Perhaps... perhaps Old Fritz was looking out for him more than he'd thought he was. He'd been given what he'd needed most: time.

Time enough to come to terms with his unstable nature and accept the very real possibility that he may disappear like Father Germania and Holy Rome. Maybe he'd have enough time to learn to enjoy it when the time came. After all, Fritz was dead, maybe he'd get to see him. But for now, he had the present to live for. And who knows what Europe's future would look like? Perhaps he'd be needed again before it was his time to go. Europe couldn't count him out of the picture just yet.

* * *

_Yet **more** translations! And some other notes as well. :)_

_(1) Language bonus FTW! Basically, this is referencing how Austria's name in German is Österreich and 'Ost' is German for east (unless you're talking about something going to **the East**, then it's **der Osten** if I understood that correctly)._

_(2) "Sie ... sind die schlimmsten stolz, rücksichtslos, dumm, starrsinnig älterer Bruder aller Zeiten!" – You... are the worst proud, inconsiderate, stupid, pigheaded older brother of all time! (I know I'm really taking a chance with using an entire sentence like this since I don't know German, much less German grammar, but I wanted to show just **how **mad Germany is [even though he'd be speaking German to Prussia anyway *fails*])_

_(3) I actually **saw** this picture on the Internet. A real, legit picture of a man on the East German side tightly-gripping the hand of a man on the West German side. I based this moment entirely off of that picture._

_Oh God, I feel even more awful than I did when writing the last chapter (but I feel a little better regarding Prussia's character)! This is too close! Too close! God, Prince Georg Friedrich is still alive and the current head of the House of Hohenzollern (though I suppose technically, after the time in which Prussia became a kingdom, it would be the House of Hohenzollern-Brandenburg?). Anyways, since the Prussian royalty never renounced their claim to the throne, I figured that their very existence would be part of the reason why Prussia will continue to live on. Also, I have no idea what the guy is like except that he has a great respect for history and takes it quite seriously, having grown-up with his grandfather, Prince Louis Ferdinand Sr. (his father was also a Louis Ferdinand). I am also **assuming** that he grew up with his grandfather (I have no idea who actually rasied him, but he definitely spent a great deal of time with his grandfather) because his father died a year after he was born and then his mother died giving birth to his sister like six or seven months later or something._

_And yay! I'm finally close enough to the present that I get to mention one of my other favorite headcanons! Kugelmugel is the son of Austria and Hungary! I've been wanting to write this forever! I haven't written this fic, but I totally will eventually. In the meantime, know that it is totally possible. ;)_


End file.
